Arken EP5 5-25x56 Review: Hands-On With the Gen I FFP Scope

Our Arken EP5 is the original EP-5 5-25x56 FFP with the VPR MIL reticle, not the newer GENII. For this session it rode on our Aero Precision AR-10-pattern build in 6.5 Creedmoor, suppressed, on a bipod, shooting Hornady American Whitetail. We put about 30 rounds through it, which covered a full zero and enough follow-up shooting to form an opinion on the turrets, glass, eyebox, and illumination.

Some context for how to read our impressions: long-range shooting is not our main discipline. Most of our rifles run 1-8x LPVOs with capped turrets, so an exposed-turret 5-25x is a different tool for us. That background shows up most in how we judged turret resistance, and we say so where it matters. If you are also coming from an LPVO, our long range shooting guide for beginners covers the dialing and ballistics side of the jump.

Zeroing the EP-5 was easy. The clicks are 0.1 MIL, each turret revolution covers 10 MIL, and the elevation cap carries two rows of numbers so you can tell the first revolution from the second at a glance. Adjustments went where we sent them, and once zeroed, Arken's AZS zero stop gives you a hard stop to return to. Arken includes a T8 Torx wrench in the box for setting it.

Our one turret complaint is resistance. The clicks are tactile and easy to count, but the turrets turn a little too easily; a bit more detent force would make them harder to bump and more deliberate to dial. Weigh that against our background, since capped LPVO turrets are what we are used to, and they are stiffer by design. The turrets work fine. They just feel lighter than we prefer.

Adjustment range is generous for the price. Arken lists 32 MIL (110 MOA) of elevation and 16 MIL (55 MOA) of windage for the original EP-5, with turrets that dial counterclockwise. That is enough elevation for 6.5 Creedmoor well past the distances most shooters ever reach without a canted base. Our 6.5 Creedmoor guide covers the AR-10 side of the cartridge.

The EP-5 image is good for its price, and the place it gives ground is the top of the range: at 25x the picture goes a little soft. That is the expected compromise on a budget 5-25x, and it is the detail that separates this scope from glass costing several times as much. Arken builds the original EP-5 around Japanese ED glass, and the side focus runs from 25 yards to infinity.

Arken lists the field of view at 25.3 feet at 100 yards on 5x and 4.9 feet at 25x, through a 56mm objective on a 34mm tube. The VPR is a first focal plane reticle, so the MIL holds stay correct at every magnification setting.

The EP-5 eyebox is tight once you climb toward 25x. Get your head slightly off and the image darkens at the edges, so the scope rewards a consistent cheek weld and a stable position on a bipod or bag. Eye relief is 3.4 inches.

The GENII redesign targeted the eyebox directly, and Arken's own GENII comparison cites a TiborasaurusRex measurement at 25x in which the maximum clear eyebox diameter grew from 2.2mm on the original EP-5 to 3.0mm on the GENII. Set eye relief carefully for your most common shooting position when you mount it; our precision scope rings guide covers 34mm mounts for a scope this size.

The EP-5 weighs 39.2 ounces and is 14 inches long before a mount. That is heavy for the class. The Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56 is 30.4 ounces on the same 34mm tube size, the Athlon Argos BTR Gen3 6-24x50 is 30.3 ounces on a 30mm tube, and Arken's own SH-4J GENII 6-24x50 is 36.0 ounces.

On a bipod-supported AR-10 the weight mostly disappears, and extra mass up top does not hurt a rifle that shoots from a rest. It matters if you carry the rifle far or shoot it off-hand. For those roles, the lighter scopes in our best long range rifle scope guide are the better fit.

The EP-5 illumination does not get very bright, and it is not meant to. Arken lights the center dot and the 1 MIL area around it in red, which helps you find the aiming point against a dark target in the last light of the day. In full sun it will not stand out the way a red dot does. The scope runs on a CR2032, and Arken includes one.

The EP-5 GENII 5-25x56 fixes the two things we noticed most, with a larger eyebox and upgraded J-XED glass, and pays for it with less adjustment, more length, and more weight. Arken's published specs for both:

Both share the 34mm tube, first focal plane layout, 0.1 MIL or 0.25 MOA clicks at 10 MIL or 25 MOA per revolution, AZS zero stop, red illumination on a CR2032, and a lifetime warranty. If a tight eyebox is what would keep you from buying the EP-5, the GENII is the answer. If you want the most dialing range in the shortest, lightest package, the original still has the better numbers.